Took me 5 years to notice I was overhardening my blades

I was at a hammer-in last month and this old timer picked up one of my finished knives. He tapped it on the anvil and just said 'sounds brittle.' I had been coming out of the quench and immediately tempering at the same temp every time without thinking. Turns out I was leaving them way too hard around 64 HRC when I was aiming for 60. Checked my last 12 blades with a hardness tester and only 3 were where I wanted them. Anybody else spend years doing something wrong without realizing?

2 comments

2 Comments

bettyhunt1mo agoMost Upvoted

Oh man, that's rough! I've been there with different stuff in the shop - sometimes you just get in a groove and don't question it. Good on you for catching it though, that's a solid five years of learning right there.

lisar141mo ago

Is it funny how we can go so long on autopilot with stuff like this? @bettyhunt makes a good point about getting into a groove, I think we all do that in different parts of life not just the shop. Ever notice how easy it is to keep doing something the same way just because that's how you started?